Mining apparatus



F. CARTLIDGE Filed Aug. 10. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet l l Sept. 29 1931.

` Mmm 1.,.g.

Sept. 29, 1931. F. CARTLIDGE 1,824,945

MINING APPARATUS Filed Aug. lO, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zier/6376507' m Wm S LA. qu,

` Sept. 29, 1931.

F. CARTLIDGE MINING APPARATUS Filed Aug. l0, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 25 other.

Patented Sept. 29, 1931 sumarse .fsrnsresf .F.zTEMcranica j i rnANxcAaTLIDGE, .or CINCINNATI, 10H10, AssIYGNoR Vrro. SULLIVAN MACHINERY yr` COMPANY, A coRPoRATIoN; or MASSACHUSETTS MrNrNeqArPARATUs,

Application ledAugust 10', 19272. Serial No. 580,907;

.The `present .invention relatesto. an apparatusffor .mining .coal andpossibly other .similarly locateddeposits and` more particularlyv to anappar-atus of this'typeemployed 5- for undercuttingV a `body of coal prior to the :breakingdown of .the .coal ,in the Vusual mannel'.V

. In miningA a vein of coal itis the. usual practice toy first undercut the. block of coal flo to thedesired depth this cut extending across :.thevein throughout `the width of thel room, `and to thereafter break down thel .thus undercut block byV a blastingorrwedging operation. Inpresent day practice,- the vundercutv25 ting of the coal is accomplished by .theuse of f `mining machines .which form ,ai :horizontal cutV of uniform width, extending" inwardly from the-breastoi1 thefveinV toadepth of six Vfeet or thereabouts. These mining machines v20 consist essentiallyof a series lof cutting members supported upon a ,carrier chain movable over acutter bar, whichistraversed across the width of the veinte progressivelyundercut the coal'from one side ofthe room vto the The disadvantage. of undercutting the coal in this manneris due to the .tact ythat .upon breakdown @the .mass of coal merely drops a distance, approximately: the lwidth of the undercut'andmust be laboriou'sly reiio moved from thisposition either .manually or by some form of mechanical loader. Itis :desirable in .mining bituminous'coal that it shall beV broken `down'in comparatively large 'lumps with a substantialy freedom from-slack and when the block oficoal is brokendown in this manner the disadvantages oit` thefo-regoing method of undercutting are even igreater than otherwise. `.It is theobject or" Athe present invention toprovide anew and kthepreferred form of the invention Fig. 15590 Erepresentsna plan view ofthe newform of :mining machine; Fig. 2 is a side elevation au improved form of apparatusfor undercutting the coal in suchv amannergthatfupon-vthe subsequent:breaking down. of thethus under- Y cut coal the `mass of coalwill be pitched out or ejected into `apositionfwhere it maybe f conveniently vloaded into-thefusualrmine cars.

ylith this'object in view one feature. of the invention contemplates ..the'.;pro.vision 'of a series of: cutting lmembers so :designed and arranged thatv two undercut .slots or ikers, are formed ,in Vthe coal which converge fromfthe breast of the` Ycoal towarda meeting point located at approximately the rear extremity o f the block to be broken down. 'The formation of converging undercuts in this manner Vprovides a vV-shaped opening or recess be- 5,155 neath the block of coal so designed that upon `breaking.down the undercut blockV the mass of coal is. pitched` forward onto the `floorof the room in a convenient position for loading.

A further feature ofthe invention consists f-fig inthe combination of aisupporting bar movable across `thevein` of coal `and carryinga series of cutting members which are guided .tomove inwardly from the breast of the vein of coal to therear portionofthe cut mdf-65 thence .outwardly returningy to the breast of the..vein. andcutting upon both. the inward land,. outward .movements With 1 this con- `structionitwill be evident-,that a singletrav- Y.erse of ,the cutter bar forms. two 4intersecting i170 slots in the-body of the coaland completely .separates a wedge shapedslabfwhich on removal leaves a .V-shaped opening. The underside of the slot is substantially horizontal and forms. aA continuation of the iioorof` the .175

room and the upper side of the slot slopes irornvvrshe rear edge of the blocktobeg'dis- .engagedupwardly toward the breast of the coal, with avsuliicient slopeto lpitch forwardly into the room when the latter is Vbrolrenigo down. i

Still further features of the invention consistin certainnovel featuresof construction,

combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the adx85 .vantages yof which will beobviousjto those .skilled in the art from the viollowing description.

.In the accompanying drawings illustrating the machine showninF l with the mass of coal sub]ected to the cutting operation shown in section; Fig. 3 isfangelevationv Apart-1 95 ing. mechanism thereforgnFig. -5 is: a ,detail f' 100 i chain.

illustrating the construction of the cutting` mechanism at the point where the slots intersect; Fig. 6 is a cross section of the cutting mechanism upon the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views Yillustrating one method of forming the undercut slot or kerf in the body of coal to be broken down.

Thevillustrated embodiment of the invention shows a body or carriage 10 enclosing'a drive motor 12. This motor serves to operate a ring gear 16 through an intermeshing miter gear 17 for actuating the cutting members and in additionoperates a feed operating member herein a chain pulley 2() located in the rear end of the carriage through a suitable clutch indicated at 22 and change 'speed gearing indicated at 24. The shaft 14 is directly connected to the upper portion of a rotatable turret 26 which is supported upon a shoe 28 underlying the body 10 and is journaled for rotation in a circular guideway 29 secured to the'shoe through fastening members 31. This turret is provided with a bearing boX 30 extending therefrom, shown in Fig. 3, which constitutes the support for a cutter bar, indicated generally at 32, this cutter bar being provided with a hollow bearing member 34, which is slidingly received `upon'the box 30and is adjustable with relation thereto through a threaded member 36. It will be evident that with this construction Vthe rotation of the turret serves to sweep the projecting cutter bar in acircular path, which is concentric'with the axis of the turret shaft 14. Projecting upwardly from the cutter bar adjacent theouter periphery of a stationary head y4() overlying the turret is a drag member 42I which is provided with a curved shoe 44 received within a circular track 46 formed in the periphery of the head 40. 'This drag member 42 is provided with a transverse slot 48 which receives an operating chain of usual form. the latter being connected to the drag member through a pin 50 which maybe dropped through one of the links of the y The operating chain for revolving the turret and for traversing the mining machine bodilyacross the vein of coal is indicated at 52 and is driven from the drive pulley 20, the chain passing at opposite sides of the drive pulley over guide pulleys 54 and 56 and extending in opposite directions from the opposite ends of the machine body 10. The general mode of operation of the mining machine will be evident-.from an inspection of Fig. 1 taken in conjunction with Figs. 7 and 8. VJhen it is desired to initiate the undercuttingof the coal body one end of the operating chain isfconnected to the drag meinber 42 and the opposite portion of the chain .passes over` the drive pulley 20 and the guide Vinv consequence has been Yscribed herein.

bar.

ley 62 and the advance and receding portions thereof are extended in opposite directions from the'opposite ends of the machine body,

,the free ends of the chain being connected to fixed points extraneous of the machine, as indicated in Fig. 8. Thereafter the rotation of the'chain pulley causes the mining machine to be traversed bodily across the vein of coal. At the completion of this traversing movement, the cutter bar may be swung in an arc, if so desired, or the mining machine may be bodily drawn rearwardly, after the slab cut has been removed to remove the cutter bar from the slot. This general method of traversing the. mining machine across the body of coal and for. swinging the cutter bar in an arc with relation to the mining machine is well known to those skilled in the art and only briefly de- According to the present invention the formation of the V-shaped slot or opening in the coal is accomplished by a chain cutter which vis guided in the desired path on the cutter As disclosed in the illustrated embodi# mentvof the invention, the cutter bar is provided upon its side, face with a guideway consisting of two straight portions converging toward one another and connected at the outer end of the cutter bar by a curved track or guideway through which the chain may pass freely. The location anddcsign of the cutting chain is such that a traversing 1novement of the cutter .bar causes the chain to cut throughout both portions of its'travel to form two intersecting slots or undercuts during a single movement of the cutter bar. The cutter bar 32 projects laterally from the supporting turret 26 and is provided with a continuous guideway for the passage of the cutting chain. The cutter bar, as indicated generally inFig. 1 and Figs. 5 and 6, comprises upper and lower bars and 72 which are connected at one end with the bearing member 34 and at the opposite end are connected to provide a curved portion, as indicated at 74. A cutting chain is supported upon the bar and movesin a path which conforms in contour to the skeleton frame of the bar. This chain comprises a series of links 75, each of which carries an adjustable cut :ting tool 77 of usual form. The links 75 yare connected by intermediate links 79 and pivot pins 80.- As indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, the cutting chain is retained in operative posimovement of said cutting means, and mechanism for feeding said body and cutting mechanism bodily laterally relative to the face of the material to be mined and in a path parallel therewith yduring the cutting operation to form a narrow V-shaped slot projecting inwardly from the face 'of the material and extending across the face at the base of the mine wall.

VIn a mining apparatus, a machine body adapted to move bodily over the mine bottom during the cutting operation, almotor carried by said lbody and having its power shaft extending longitudinally of the apiparatus, cutting mechanism carried by said body and including a looped cutter bar arranged substantially.'parallel to avertical plane and extending lengthwise of said body during the transverse cutting operation, said cutter bar comprising a horizontal vbottom portion and an inclined top portion, said portions converging'at an acute angle towards one another .at the outer end of the bar and connected Aby a curve of a small radius thereby forming a V-shaped cutter frame having a central core opening,

i` mechanism carried by said body and driven by said motor for driving said cutting mech-V anism, and mechanism for feeding said body and cutting mechanism in a substantially straight line transversely across the coal face to form a substantially V-shaped slot projec'ting inwardly at the face of the material at the base of the mine wall.

4. In a mining apparatus, the combination of a machine body adapted to rest upon and slide in any direction over the mine bottom7 a motor carried by said body and having its power shaft extending longitudinally of the apparatus, cutting mechanism carried by said body'and including a narrowrlooped cutter bar extendinglengthwise of said body during the transverse cutting operation, and a cutter chain movable along the margin of said bar in a. vertically disposed orbit and driven by said motor said cutter bar comprising a horizontal bottom portion and an `inclined top portion, said portions converging at an acute angle towards one another at the outer end of the bar'and connected by a curve of a 'small radius thereby forming a V-shaped cuting and bodily movement of the support transversely across the coal face during transverse cutting, cutting mechanism pivotally supportedvon said support for substantially horizontal swinging movement re1- ative to the latter and said motor and including cutting elements circulating in orbits parallel to a vertical plane, and means actuated by said motor for transmitting movement to said elements in their orbits irrespective of change in position of said orbits relative to the motor during swinging of the cutting mechanism.

6. Inv a mining apparatus, a machine frame' slidable bodily over a mine bottom transversely across the coal face during lateral cutting and comprising a motor, cutting mechanism pivotally supported on said frame for swinging movement about a substantially vertical axis relative to said frame and to said motor and including cutting elements circulating in an orbit 'parallel to a vertical plane, and means for transmitting movement to said elements in their orbit irrespective of change in position thereof relative to saidy motor during swinging of said cutting mechanism.

7. In a mining apparatus, a machine frame slidable bodily over a mine bottom transversely across the coal face during lateral cutting andV comprising a motor rotating on an axis extending at all times longitudinally of said frame, cutting mechanism carriedby said frame and including a pivoted cutter bar carrying cutting elements moving in orbits parallel to vertical planes, a motor driven driving element rotatable on an axis in the same liiiewvith the bar pivot, and an actuatingelement for said cutting elements rotatable on an axis perpendicular to .the orbits of the latter and actuated by said driving element.

8; In a miningv apparatus, a machine frame slidable bodily over amine bottom transversely across thefcoal face during lateral cutting and comprising aY motor rotating on an axis extending at all times longitudinally of said frame, cutting mechanism carried by said frame and including a pivoted cutter bar carrying cutting elements moving in orbits parallel to vertical planes, a motor driven driving element rotatable on an axis in the same line with the bar pivot, andan actuating element for said cutting elements rotatable on an axis perpendicular to the orbits of the latter and to said bar v wall, a cutter chain carried by said bar, and operative driving connections betweensaid motor and chain eleetive in any angular position of said bar relative to said motor.

l0. In a mining apparatus, a support carrying a motor, a vertical `looped Cutter bar swingable relative to said motor on a vertical axis and arranged to out a narrow wedge-shaped kerf at the base of the mine wall7 a cutter chain carried by said bar,

operative driving connections between said n motor and chain effective in any angular positions of said bar relative to said motor, and means for i'eeding saidV support and cutter bar bodily laterally relative to the face of the material to be mined and in a. path parallel with the face during the eutting operation to cut a kerf transversely beneath the face of the material, said feeding means being operative to effect bar swing relative to said support.

FRANK CARTLIDGE. 

